“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate
his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and
sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For
which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit
down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Lk. 14:26-35)
When Jesus Christ becomes our everything, He precludes our family, our loves, our desires, our dreams, our everything, because He becomes our everything. He becomes our desire, our aim, our love. He becomes the single strongest longing of our hearts.
This is what it means to be a follower of Christ. This is the cost of discipleship. So help me, God.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Lk. 14:26-35)
When Jesus Christ becomes our everything, He precludes our family, our loves, our desires, our dreams, our everything, because He becomes our everything. He becomes our desire, our aim, our love. He becomes the single strongest longing of our hearts.
This is what it means to be a follower of Christ. This is the cost of discipleship. So help me, God.
This passage often comes to mind to me when I consider my future in following Christ. As does Mark 10:29-30.
ReplyDelete"Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life."
These are words that bring me great hope and encouragement when I'm in a dark place. Yet they also remind me of a daunting life ahead of me.
Don't stop writing. You do not know how encouraging reading about your spiritual journey has been for me. It is rare to see young people like this. You are a big blessing. Please don't stop sharing your journey with us.
ReplyDeleteI don't plan to. I'm doing a couple ministry things with my church this month and a close friend has been in the hospital, so I won't be writing much right now, but soon. :) Thank you for reading and encouraging... It's hugely encouraging to know I'm not just talking to the wind. :)
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